The Senate has ruled out the immediate resumption of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, insisting that her six-month suspension remains subject to an ongoing judicial process.

In a letter dated September 4, 2025, and signed by the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, the Senate acknowledged receiving Akpoti-Uduaghan’s notification of her planned return on the same day, which she argued marked the expiration of her suspension.

However, the upper chamber maintained that her suspension, which began on March 6, 2025, cannot be lifted until the Court of Appeal delivers judgment in the case she filed against the Senate.

“The matter remains sub judice, and until the judicial process is concluded, no administrative action can be taken to facilitate your resumption,” the letter partly read.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March for alleged insubordination after rejecting a seat reassignment during plenary. Based on the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, her suspension also included the withdrawal of aides, office privileges, and salaries.

The senator has consistently maintained that her suspension was politically motivated, linking it to a petition she filed against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, whom she accused of sexual harassment, an allegation the Senate dismissed.

Although she secured a court ruling that she claimed favoured her recall, attempts to re-enter the National Assembly in July ended in a confrontation, as security operatives blocked her entry despite the presence of cheering supporters outside the complex.